Folding stool



(No Model.) v

@LEBEATTY n FOLDING STOOL.

No. 601,1,18 Patented Mar.22,1898.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN FRANK REAf'rrr, OE NEW LONDON, NORTH CAROLINA.

FOLDING STOOL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 601,118, dated March 22, 1898.

Application led September 30, 1897. Serial No. 653,611. (No model.) n

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN FRANK BEATTY, a citizen of the United States, residing at New London, in the county of Stanley and State of North Carolin a, have invented a new and useful Folding Stool, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in folding stools.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of folding stools and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient one adapted to be hinged to a counter, desk, or other suitable support and capable of affording a firm seat and of being compactly folded against the support when not in use.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, as hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a folding stool constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is avertical sectional view of the same.. Fig. 3 is a similar view, the stool being folded.

Like numerals Of reference designate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings.

1 designates a seat, preferablyT constructed of wood, as shown, and connected at its inner edge to a support 2 by a hinge 3, which permits the seat to be swung upward from a horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 1, to a vertical position against the support, as shown in Fig. 3, and also to swing downward therefrom. Asupporting-block t is secured to the support 2 at a point directly beneath the seat and Ais adapted to receive the same when the seat is in a horizontal position, and thereby relieve the hinge from strain. r

The seat is supported near its Outer edge at a point between the 'same and the center by a leg 5, consisting of a substantially triangular frame, connected at its top to the seat by a hinge 6 and at its bottom with the support by a link-rod 7. The triangular frame consists of a horizontal bottom piece 8, a central bar 9, and inclined bracing-bars 10, forming the sides of the frame and secured at their terminals to the ends of the bottom bar 8 and to the central bar 9 near the top thereof. The

top of the leg is provided at its outer face with a recess 11, forming a horizontal supportin g-shoulder and engaged by a transverse cleat 12, which is secured to the bottom of the seat. The lower face of the cleat 12 rests upon the shoulder of the recess 11, and a iirm and secure support is thereby provided. The link-bar 7, which is provided at its ends with eyes, is hinged to eyes 13 and. 14 of the leg and the support, and it prevents the lower end of the leg from swinging inward when the seat is in a horizontal position. As the seat must swing upward in folding,it is absolutely impossible for the stool to collapse accidentally While it is inuse.

The seat is retained in its vertical position by a substantially L-shaped catch 15, pivoted at its angle in a recess of the support, at the top thereof, and having one arm horizontal and adapted to engage a plate 16 of the seat. The vertical arm of the catch is engaged by a spiral spring 17, which is seated in a socket of the support, and the engaging end or arm is beveled and provided with a shoulder. The plate 16 is secured to the seat at the edge thereof over a recess 18, and it is adapted to engage the catch automatically when the seat is swung upward.

The invention has the following advantages: The stool is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction,it is strong and durable and adapted to be compactly folded when not in use, and it is capable of use in stores, cars, schools, and the like. The construction is also capable of use on cars as a folding step without any material alteration.

Changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of this invention.

What I claim is- 1. The combination with a support, of a seat hinged to the support, a cleat secured to the lower face of the seat at the outer portion thereof, a leg hinged to the seat in rear of the cleat and consisting of a substantially triangular frame provided at the top with a recess receiving the cleat and forming a supporting-shoulder, said leg being composed of a horizontal bottom bar, a central vertical supporting-bar and the oppositely-inclined side braces secured to the upper end of the TOO Vertical bar and to the terminals of the horizontal bar, and a link Connecting the bottoni of the leg with the support, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a support provided with a recess, a seat hinged to the support and provided at its upper edge with a recess, a plate secured to the seat over the recess thereof, an L-shaped spring-actuated catch pivoted at its angle in the recess 0f the support and having one of its arms horizontal and arranged to engage the said plate when the seat is swung upward, a cleat secured to the lower face of the seat, a leg hinged to the seat and engaging the cleat, and a link connecting the leg with the support, substantially as described.

In testimony that I Claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JOHN FRANK BEATTY.

Witnesses:

E. O. BosrWIoK, R. B. RITCHIE. 

